School officials said the main complaint they heard was about having a substitute in her Colony Bend Elementary School classroom for an extended period.

Alchalabi, 23, declined to be interviewed, but she did respond to written questions from the Houston Chronicle two weeks ago. She explained by e-mail that an experienced substitute teacher took over for her while she was away from class for a few weeks.

"She taught at the school last year and knows the teachers and students very well," Alchalabi wrote. "We thoroughly went over the lesson plans to ensure the students would receive their full education."

She said she went on the show to find love, not to become a reality-TV personality.

In a letter dated Jan. 22, Alchalabi told parents she would probably not be at school for a Feb. 8 meeting because of a "personal issue" and would be away for a week or more.

She was gone for a month, taping episodes of The Bachelor, which chronicles Andy Baldwin's pursuit of love. The show is now airing; at the end of each episode, Baldwin, a U.S. Navy doctor, presents a red rose to the women he has chosen to remain on the show.

In Monday night's episode, Alchalabi was given a rose, making her one of four women remaining on the show.

Parent Lesley White complained in a letter to Fort Bend ISD that the program "does not promote family values, moral values or appreciation of the normal 'dating' process."

"What she does in her own time is fine," White said of the local contestant. "But what she does on our time is not fine."

Parent Raquel Flores said it "was very disruptive" to have Alchalabi gone while her students were preparing to take a TAKS test.